A/N: Since we were never told Hermiones parents names (that I can recall) I have taken the liberty of making them up. A huge thanks to LadyWizbee for her insight and encouragement on the writing of my first ever published fic.
When she steps off the train I can tell that she had been crying. Her eyes are too shiny and the tip of her nose too pink. Unlike when she was home for Christmas and stepped off the train crying, this time both boys are with her and she seems to be using one to help her stand up. I briefly wonder if theyve maybe had a spat on the train until I see her hug Harry tightly, but quickly, before turning her attention to Ron. The look on her face, the way they squeeze just a bit too long and a bit too hard before letting go, and the way his hand lingers on her back let me know that this time everything is ok there (maybe a little too ok).
Hermione says her goodbyes to the pair and walks over to me and Henry, fixing a smile on her face. When we get to the car, Henry is putting her stuff in the boot and I hug her and quietly ask if everything is ok. She nods. The rest of the ride home is silent.
The following morning, Hermione joins me at the table for tea. She seems just as anxious as I am and I wonder if now is the time to tell her that Henry and I are divorcing or if I was correct in thinking that she needs to be home for a few weeks so that maybe she will see and understand what our marriage has become.
Dad is at work, I say.
She knows.
I ask again if she is ok. This time she shakes her head and starts to cry. The Headmaster at her school, Professor Dumbledore, has died. I am shocked and sad for her. I knew that he was older but when she spoke of him, he had still seemed so vibrant. When I ask what happened, she averts her eyes and mumbles that it was natural causes and as sure as I am that she is lying, I am also sure that for now the conversation is over.
She is reading a book in the sunroom a week later when I come in from gardening. The book is old and battered and has designs on the front but no words. It looks foreboding and I wonder how a book can make me feel frightened but it does. I am about to ask her what she is reading when she seemingly hears my thoughts and tells me that she is studying for next year already because she heard that 7th year is very difficult. I smile to myself, it seems nothing academically has been difficult for Hermione but then there is a lot I do not know about her new world, a world I am not part of.
She places the book on the table before getting up and takes the flowers from my hands. I follow her into the kitchen and watch as she takes out a vase and starts arranging them. Not meeting my eyes, she asks why I havent been to work since she came home. I want to tell her that it is because her father and Donna, the office manager of the practice the two of us started together when we were young and in love, are having an affair. I want to tell her that the whole staff knows and I am embarrassed to show my face and hear the whispers behind my back. Instead, I tell her that I wanted to spend time with her this summer and she smiles and says that shes glad because she wanted to spend time with me until August and leaving for the Burrow for a wedding. I can tell she means it.
He is here again tonight and although I like him I am wondering why he is making all these visits this summer. The first time he was to come, Hermione had asked me if I minded. Of course I didnt. I even attempted to fix a nice dinner which he seemed to love. After dinner I had quietly left the room so that they could spend time together. I know they are friends but I also know my daughter well enough to know friends was a loose interpretation of the word.
That was 3 weeks ago and the visits have become more frequent. He is over almost daily now and Hermione has stopped asking if it is ok. Ron is polite, friendly, and makes me feel like Julia Child even though I know my cooking is terrible and yet something unnerves me about his visits now. It is almost like they are planning something and I am afraid that she is pregnant or they are planning to run away or drop out of school. They constantly have their heads together and are speaking in low voices. I realize they never speak of Harry and he is noticeable only in his absence. Sometimes she looks upset and sometimes so does he. Once when he was leaving I heard her crying and his muffled pleas for her to stop, that everything would be ok. Normally I would discuss this with Henry but he has left for a conference and will not be back for 2 weeks so I am left on my own to figure this out.
I decide to finally ask her about it one morning and she chuckles and tells me that Harrys birthday is coming up and that they are throwing him a party since in the wizarding world you are an adult at 17. She is overwhelmed with both planning a party and studying but otherwise is fine. She says that she hopes Rons visits have not become an annoyance and I assure her that they havent. I feel somewhat relieved though not convinced.
As she leaves to go back upstairs and freshen up, she stops to ask when Henry will be home from the conference. I tell her that he will be home in 6 days and she gives a thin smile before turning to continue up the stairs. Later that day when Ron is over, I hear her tell him that her father will be home in 6 days and that things can happen the day after. I go to bed with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
To my surprised dismay, Rons visits stop.
When I wake up the day after Henry comes home, I immediately peek into Hermiones room to make sure she is still there. She is. When I get downstairs I find Henry reading the paper at the kitchen table. He sees me in my nightclothes and tersely reminds me that we have an appointment with the lawyer in 2 hours. I dont want to go and ask if perhaps we could reschedule but Henry reminds me that this is the only appointment we could get before September and that I was the one who wanted to speak with a lawyer before telling Hermione about the divorce. I reluctantly concede and go back to our bedroom, or what was once our bedroom, to shower and get dressed.
Before leaving, I find Hermione sitting on the bench in the garden. She walks to the front of the house with me where Henry is waiting by the car. She gives us both a tight hug and whispers that she loves me. I can tell that she wants to cry but she doesnt. I assure her we will only be gone a few hours. She smiles in response and blinks back tears. I want to stay.
On the way into the city, Henry asks if Hermione seemed alright to me and I tell him that she did not. He agrees and I am strangely glad that we can still agree on something. The rest of the ride passes slowly.
When we get home from the lawyer, Hermione is not home. On the drive home Henry and I had discussed waiting for her together if she was not there and so we sit at the kitchen table silently. I am nervous of her acceptance of our situation and nervous of where she has gone. I notice that the plate of cookies I had made yesterday and then sat upon the counter look to be half gone and I wonder if Ron had been here today. Maybe while waiting for Hermione it is a perfect time to bring up my concerns over Rons visits and their whispers. I start to say something to Henry when his eyes begin to look a bit odd to me. Suddenly I am extremely tired and decide to sleep right there at the table.
The next morning I wake in bed and roll over to see Wendell still sleeping. I gently shake him awake, give him a kiss, and go down to make tea. Over a breakfast of bacon and eggs he tells me that he thinks we should close the practice and relocate to Australia. I tell him that I had just been thinking the same thing, I have always wanted to move there, and so we both immediately begin planning for our new start.
I cannot remember a time when we were happier.